


Start Spreading the News

by Polly_Phemus (orphan_account)



Series: Dom down the Hall Prompts, Timestamps &tc [4]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, M/M, Skype
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 12:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11380350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Polly_Phemus
Summary: Now that Jared and Jensen are sealed, it's time to start letting people know.  Starting with Jared's mother.Set on Saturday, the morning after "A Spot of Bother."The OFC is Jared's mom; I decided to give her a different name than Our World Jared Padalecki's mother.  Same will go for other non-celebrity relatives as they crop up.[Note: the whole story is just Jared talking to his mom, although mostly about Jensen, but if lack-of-Jensen is a deal-breaker for any readers out there, this would be a story to skip.]





	Start Spreading the News

Jared was nervous, but still excited. He was happy to be sealed to Jensen and he wanted everyone to know. But he really should start with his parents. And his mother....

Well, Jared's mom was, to put it politely, a bit of a traditionalist. She'd had to be talked into letting Jared go to college, releasing his dowry funds for tuition, although once he'd started, she'd been a hundred percent behind him. She'd made sure to go to as many parent-friendly events as she could and had even very patiently helped him through his small business management coursework. His dad, who was submissive to Jared's mom to a degree that frequently made Jared uncomfortable, had been more quiet but just as enthusiastic in his support. He'd put a canister labeled "JARED'S COFFEE -- DO NOT TOUCH" in the cupboard and Jared had never found it to be less than half full.

Jared's dad had been raised by his Aunt Lucy, who was pretty progressive. When Jared's mom had shown an interest, she'd approached Aunt Lucy for formal permission to court Jared's dad and things had progressed from courtship to sealing to promise to pledge over the course of about eighteen months.

Jared, though, had nodded at Jensen in their mutual condo building hall and elevator a lot for a year before he even knew his first name. On Wednesday, he'd learned that J. Ackles, 12G, was Jensen Ackles, an attorney. An attorney who'd helped Jared out of a jam by administering a corporately ordered corporal punishment less than forty-eight hours later. After a mandatory twenty-four hour waiting period, they'd gone on a date.

By early Sunday morning, Jensen had come all over Jared face and called him his. Sunday evening, they'd sealed, right outside in front of a bunch of strangers, agreeing that they were in a committed, exclusive relationship.

Jared had a feeling his mother wouldn't approve. But he still had to tell her. He got her on Skype early Saturday morning.

"Jared," she said, nodding at him formally. "How are things?"

"Fine. Dogs are good, work is good, pipes haven't burst," he said. "And with you guys?"

"Quite well, thank you. We had a party for Aunt Lucy last night to celebrate her return from Peru. We all missed you very much," she said.

Jared listened for condemnation; his mother wasn't thrilled that he lived a thousand miles away. But she didn't seem mad; just stating a fact. She had trouble expressing emotions a lot of the time, except anger. She was really good with anger.

"Sorry I missed it. But I've been really busy here in Atlanta," he said.

"Oh? Anything I should know about?"

"Yeah." Jared took a deep breath. "I got sealed on Sunday."

Jared's mother's face was a mask. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone," she said carefully.

"Well, it was kind of sudden. His name's Jensen Ackles, he's a lawyer and he lives down the hall from me."

"Did he just move in?"

"No, he's been here longer than I have. We've seen each other around, but we didn't really strike up a conversation until recently."

"I see," Jared's mother said and Jared had no idea what to make of that. "So while you've just met, you do know he has a history. He's not some Johnny-come-lately."

"Yeah," Jared said, relieved. Jensen's being a lawyer probably went a long way toward placating his mother and, while Jared didn't always agree with her way of showing it, she was deeply protective of his dad and their children.

"How did you strike up a conversation? Or did he initiate?" Jared's mother wanted to know. Okay, this was going pretty well. Better than Jared thought, if she was concentrating on details rather than lecturing broadly. He could tell she was doing something with her phone out of her tablet's webcam range. Champion multi-tasker.

"We were on the elevator. He was on the phone and said something about wanting to see _Wonder Sub_ just before he disconnected."

Jared's mother suddenly grinned; she could go from resting frown to full-on Julia Roberts in a flash and it was always a wonder to behold. "Of course you couldn't resist," she teased Jared.

"Nope. So we talked, I made him some apps, we played pool...." Jared couldn't tell her about the corporal punishment; the whole reason he'd gone to Jensen was so his mother would never find out he'd screwed up at work and make him quit the professional world.

"The apps would've done it. At pool, did you let him win?"

Jared sighed. "I played very badly, but not on purpose," he hedged. After all, he had lost that first game. "I was kind of distracted," he admitted.

"No wonder," Jared's mother said, looking down at her phone. "I just pulled up his LinkedIn profile. He's very handsome."

"He is." Jared had never looked at Jensen's LinkedIn profile. Hadn't even occurred to him. He didn't even know if Jensen had Twitter.

"Twenty-nine and already a junior partner," his mother said approvingly. Jared couldn't help frowning.

"Oh, don't be like that, Jared," his mother said. "You've got your priorities and I've got my prerogatives. And I want to make sure that the dom you've chosen is worthy of you. I get to be practical so you can be emotional."

Jared decided that was as good as he was going to get from her. "So...what do you think?"

"He's in probate law, so his hours aren't probably all that bad," Jared's mother mused. Jared wanted to protest but then realized that, actually, at least so far, Jensen hadn't really been working an ungodly number of hours. Just the nineteen billables he'd done in twenty-four hours, but that had been to distract himself from his own feelings after administering Jared's corporal punishment.

"And I see that he does pro-bono work with domestic abuse shelters," his mother added approvingly. Jared tried to hide his shock. His mother officially knew more about Jensen's life than he did. _God, I'm an asshole boyfriend,_ Jared thought. He really needed to start paying as much attention to Jensen as a person in his own right as he did to Jensen as he related to Jared.

"Yeah, he's a good guy," Jared said.

"He's been involved in a number of progressive causes," Jared's mother sniffed. "Obviously, I don't approve of all of them, but that does make him an excellent fit for _you_ ," she added more warmly. Jared couldn't believe what he was hearing. When his mother had been setting up dates for him left and right back in San Antonio, she'd been picking out doms that suited her goals and values. But now she seemed to be happy with Jared's choice.

"I like him," Jared said.

"I hope so, if you agreed to seal," his mother said. "Although...."

Jared steeled himself.

"You're twenty-five and never sealed before," his mother said. "And a seal isn't a pledge or even a promise, but it's still a commitment. And he's got a few years on you. I just hope...." She looked wistful.

"You hope I don't scr-- mess it up."

"No," his mother said sharply. "I hope _he_ doesn't screw it up." 

It was as close to cussing as he'd ever heard his mother get.

"I don't know exactly what happened to you in freshman year," she said hesitantly, "but I know something did and it made you more vulnerable."

Jared had nothing to say to that. He'd tried to cover it up around his parents; he had no idea that they'd had any idea. Except...after that incident, his mother hadn't set him up on any more blind dates. He'd figured it was because he was a college man, but maybe it was because she was worried she'd accidentally put him together with a dom he couldn't handle.

"And if he does screw it up, it's because _he's_ an insensitive jerk, not because you're not hard enough," she added. This was a whole side of his mother he'd never seen before. He needed to get a hold of his dad, have him check for a pod.

"We've both kind of messed up a little already," he told her.

"What happened?" The question was sharp.

"I don't want to get into specifics," Jared said. "Just...we talked about it. We worked it out."

"Good," she said. "I don't want you hurt, obviously, but if you're already working on problems as they come up, you aren't too starry-eyed. And I hope you're sticking up for yourself."

"Trying to. And he respects that," Jared said, trying to keep track of the conversation even though he was thoroughly puzzled. Since when did his mother want to see subs sticking up for themselves? His dad never seemed to, as much as Jared could remember, anyway. "Although...starry-eyed isn't so far off," he said, trying to pick up the conversation again.

"Just don't trip on the curb," his mother said practically. Jared laughed.

"Dad around?"

Jared's mother looked a little sad. "If he were, I would've gotten him over here the second you said you were sealed," she said. Jared nodded apologetically; it was big news and it was kind of unfair of him to assume his mother would've automatically shut his dad out.

"He's down at the community center, trying to get the kids interested in knitting," she told Jared.

"Having much success?"

"A bit," Jared's mom said, brightening even more. Usually any talk of Jared's dad's knitting made her shut down. Jared was glad he'd caught her in such a good mood, but he wondered how _that_ had happened.

"At the end of season, Coach Pileggi told all his athletes that they should take up interests that would help with fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination in addition to running and lifting weights. So quite a few of them wanted to know about knitting."

"He get much retention after the introductory presentation?"

"Pretty good," Jared's mom said. "Enough that we've got a freezer full of casseroles with incredibly detailed heating instructions so that I can be the one getting dinner on the table while he's trying to get teenagers to clean up after themselves."

Jared was having trouble processing. It was like his mother was a different person...no, more like she'd been when his dad had stayed with Aunt Lucy for a week when her sub of twenty years died. Jared's mom hadn't been great at running the household on her own, but they'd had clean clothes and dinner and lunches. He wondered what he had missed since he'd moved to Atlanta.

"Well, it's a beautiful Saturday here," his mother was saying.

"Here, too," Jared said.

"Does your young dom...I mean, does Jensen have the day off?"

"He does," Jared said, smiling at the thought of having a whole day with Jensen.

"Then you probably want to get on with enjoying your weekend. And I have to check the soundproofing in the media room."

Jared's dad had a terrible time with Independence Day fireworks; the last few years hadn't been too bad, but he always wanted to have a safe place to retreat to if things got too loud.

"Okay, I guess that's it, then," Jared said, rather dazed by the whole conversation. It had been short but dizzying.

"Jared?" He'd never heard his mother say his name that hesitantly.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Can I...can I tell your dad your news when he gets back? Or would you rather do it yourself?" 

Jared had no idea how to answer. His mother obviously wanted to tell his dad, but Jared wanted to share his news with his dad directly. Time for family diplomacy, he decided.

"Why don't you tell him I've sealed?" Jared suggested. "Maybe show him Jensen's profile. But when it comes to the whens and the hows and whys...."

"My lips will be...well, sealed," Jared's mom said, actually giggling a little at the pun. "But he'll definitely want to call you sooner rather than later."

"I'll make sure I'm available," Jared promised.

"And, Jared? I'm really happy you found someone you feel comfortable sealing to. And if you have problems...well, I know I'm not who you'd first choose to turn to, but I am here. And do talk to someone. Don't let him bully you."

Jared's mom disconnected. Jared closed his laptop. His mom had always strapped his dad once a week whether he did anything wrong or not. She made him kneel at her side during dinner. Jared had never been sure if it was just that they were old-school in their relationship or if she was bullying him.

But the way she'd talked just now...there'd been little sign of the strict dom he'd always thought her to be. She'd expressed perfectly reasonable concerns, but hadn't put him down for sealing so quickly or said anything against Jensen or Jared's having chosen him. And not one word about how Jensen should've asked her permission to court Jared.

Of course, if Jensen had been forty and a tattoo artist, the conversation probably would've gone a lot differently, Jared thought with a laugh. He'd struck out on his own, gotten an education and a career and a condo and now he was sealed with exactly the kind of dom his mother would've picked for him. Hell, maybe, if he'd told her that he'd "stuck up for himself" the night before by rebuking his dom, she might've even approved of that. There were definitely sides to Annabelle Padalecki he'd never known existed.

**Author's Note:**

> Not too far into my work on the original "Dom down the Hall" stories, I started thinking about Jared's parents' relationship. Jared has a pretty negative view of it, but I started to think that probably there was a lot of things going on with them that he wasn't privy to. At some point, I want to explore that.
> 
> But for now...Jared's duty call is done and Jensen will be back in the next story. SexyBack!


End file.
